November 3, 2014

Only in Auckland? Gridlock comes to the 4WD safari

Lots of trucks this way …
… lots more trucks that way, and they're only a third of the total on the Rosehill College 4WD safari.
You have to hand it to members of the Manukau 4WD Club who did an excellent job of organising the Rosehill College fundraising safari on rural property between Port Waikato and Limestone Downs. They had the people, the procedures and it worked well, a how-to demonstration for some other trip organisers. Except for one thing: they let in far too many vehicles.

Obviously there was the challenge to raise as much as possible to help send a group of students on a World Challenge expedition to Vietnam. But with the vehicles of 85-odd paying customers plus those of the officials, marshalls and hangers-on, the total muster was almost 100 vehicles. 

As early as morning tea, one Manukau club official, scanning a paddock full of door-to-door 4WDs, was saying, "I think we should have run it over two days with 50 trucks each." Wise man. Listen to what he says next time. A hundred vehicles is no problem if they're split into, say, four groups that each goes their own way. The Rosehill 100 travelled together for much of the trip, creating long delays, 4WDs as far as the eye could see in either direction, and taking the gloss off what was otherwise a really nice, mostly non-challenging trip through some scenic, rarely-seen countryside, bush and coast.

New Zealand's most scenic recovery? They're watching the Patrol (right) winching out from some soft ground.

2 comments:

  1. You need to get out more often: 100 vehicles is quite common on safaris, sometimes up to 120. The gridlock you describe is all too common as organisers cram in the max number.

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